Inspection of the learning community
surrounding Lossiemouth High School
The Moray Council
18 June 2013
Transforming lives through learning
1. Context
Community learning and development (CLD) partners within the area of Lossiemouth
High School were inspected by Education Scotland during April 2013. During the
visit Education Scotland staff talked to children, young people and adults. We
worked closely with local CLD managers, CLD providers, partners, paid staff and
volunteers. We wanted to find out how well partners are improving the life chances
of people living in the community through learning, building stronger more resilient
communities and improving the quality of services and provision. We also looked at
how well staff and volunteers are developing their own practices and how well
partners, including schools, are working together. We looked at some particular
aspects of recent work which were identified by partners including:
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early engagement through partnership working; and.
effective transitions for learners.
2. How well are partners improving learning, increasing life chances,
promoting and securing wellbeing?
Staff and volunteers working within the Lossiemouth learning community are
increasing their focus on working together to improve the life chances of local
people. Ceremonies to celebrate the achievements of participants of all ages help to
promote a positive learning culture. There is an increasing focus on accreditation of
learners’ achievements by staff in most settings. Levels of young people and adult
learners gaining awards including Dynamic Youth, Saltire and a range from SQA are
good and improving. Some agencies, including libraries, have clear and effective
processes for data collection and analysis. However, staff understanding and use of
management information systems is variable and there continue to be issues in
relation to data sharing across departments and agencies. Airplay, the RAF youth
work and support service regularly review performance against the Airplay Lossie
Pledge to ensure they perform consistently well. This has led them to complete a
portfolio for Aiming Higher, the quality improvement framework for RAF’s Airplay.
Lossiemouth High School is using data from the research carried out at the Freshers
Fayre to develop and plan next year’s Fayre. Most staff systematically assess and
review the needs of learners and take account of local community issues in their own
services.
The level and quality of learning provision for this community is very good overall
and is based on a developing understanding of local needs. Activities and
programmes delivered at Lossiemouth Sports and Community Centre are well
attended and have a clear focus on health and wellbeing. Many activities are
effectively targeted to meet the needs of specific groups. Older people are more
active and engaged as a result of taking part in the Be Active Life Long group.
Smoking amongst 15 year olds has dropped as a result of smoking cessation
sessions and adults are feeling healthier as a result of taking part in active classes
and slimming groups.
Young learners who previously participated in enhanced primary to secondary
transition programmes are well integrated into the life of the school and learning well.
Positive destinations for those leaving secondary school are high and are particularly
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strong in terms of entry to higher education. Staff make the most of strong local
networks to sustain their relationships with young people after they move on and
provide extra support and advice as required. A wide range of partners make
significant inputs into both the broad general education and senior phase of the
curriculum. Partners, including schools, are keen to develop joint approaches to
assessment and moderation. The increasing emphasis on gaining multi-awards
where appropriate is ensuring that young learners do well. Outf!t provide targeted
outdoor education for vulnerable young people and their families resulting in
improved relationships between generations. Many learners are self-directed and
engaging in decision making. Adult learners in Kickstart are very clear about their
own learning needs and are developing the programme. Young people at the
Hopeman and Burghhead drop-ins are actively engaging in decision making about
the local area. There is scope to engage with young people more about their
learning in drop-in settings.
Strong partnership working between Moray College and RAF Lossiemouth resulted
in a tailored programme of literacy and numeracy for service personnel. As a result,
twenty eight are now eligible to progress to promoted posts. Other partners are keen
to consider how to develop this very effective tailored approach to meeting local
needs. Number of learners accessing English for speakers of other languages
(ESOL) and Essential Skills classes are low. Other approaches to meeting the
needs of local learners could helpfully be considered. S5 learners involved in the
Participate course are more confident and developing skills which will help them to
gain employment. They are proud of their achievements. Young people engaged in
the Moving Forward Employability Training courses have increased confidence and
all have gained skills and qualifications. Many adult learners on the Kickstart
programme delivered by Moray College and Essential Skills are progressing to
further and higher education programmes at Moray College and Robert Gordon’s
University. This has been life changing for these adult learners and their families.
Digital adult learners are gaining skills with which they are able to communicate
more effectively with their families and also engage in seeking appropriate
employment opportunities.
Highly effective community organisations deliver local services and attract additional
funding and resources to the area. There have been a number of high profile
campaigns in relation to local services including Save RAF Lossiemouth and saving
the playing fields. These have attracted many local people, gained lots of publicity
and led to positive outcomes. Local people are confident about their engagements
with decision makers at all levels and would like more systematic opportunities to
discuss and influence at an early stage. Building the Broch is a very effective
approach bringing community organisations together with a common purpose.
Burghead is a strong active community that delivers a lot of its own services and this
community engagement activity has built a tailored approach to considering the
future. The Thinking Thistles, a group of P7 pupils from Burghead Primary School,
are very effectively engaged in the Building the Broch process. They have a good
awareness and understanding of the improvement priorities for Burghead. Their
views have been published in the press and they have performed dramas and raps
for parents and others focussed on environmental and health issues.
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3. How well are partners working together and improving the quality of
services and provision?
Schools, youth services, youth justice, police and other key partners are well
engaged in the Local Management Group (LMG). The LMG has had a number of
significant successes in relation to joint responses and projects including developing
enhanced transition programmes for targeted young people moving from primaries to
Lossiemouth High School. The engagement of senior staff in targeted activities in
the community including outreach in Burghead in response to concerns about
underage drinking has had positive benefits. Over the past year, due to a range of
restructuring and staffing changes there has been more of a reactive focus. The
LMG would benefit from reviewing their planning and review processes. Police
intelligence is well used for authority wide initiatives including Operation Avon and to
target local projects and activities including outreach and the mobile information bus.
Wider systemic sharing and use of partner intelligence would further enhance
delivery and impact. Partner agencies delivering Kickstart are undertaking effective
joint quality assurance and making changes to meet learner’s needs.
The GIRFEC approach in Moray has structures in place for implementation from
strategic to operational level. While it is too early to assess the impact of this
approach, staff and volunteers are very clear that they are improving their
understanding by working together. The Local Integrated Assessment and Planning
(LIAP) approach to considering joint solutions is well developed in the Lossiemouth
area. Staff from across agencies are very confident about engaging with each other,
young people and families at early stages. Thoughtful reflection on practice by staff
with each other and learners is improving outcomes. In Moray, a long-standing
culture of sharing professional learning and workforce development as well as
resources exists. This enables local staff to build a common understanding and
deeper awareness of each other’s roles and responsibilities.
This inspection of learning and development in the learning community surrounding
Lossiemouth High School found the following key strengths.
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Strong welcoming relationships between volunteers, staff and learners.
Wide range of targeted and universal provision.
Highly effective and vibrant community organisations.
Commitment to, and growing emphasis on, early interventions, prevention and
transitions.
We discussed with partners how they might continue to improve their work. This is
what we agreed with them.
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Increase and sustain the focus on meeting learning needs.
Ensure effective communication across strategic and local networks.
Build on existing local solutions and programmes like Building the Broch to
meet other identified local needs.
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4. What happens at the end of the inspection?
The inspection team was able to rely on the high quality self-evaluation provided by
the learning community. Partners have a good understanding of their strengths and
areas for improvement and communities are achieving very well. As a result we
have ended the inspection process at this stage.
Maureen Mallon
HM Inspector
18 June 2013
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Additional inspection evidence, such as details of the quality indicator evaluations,
for this learning community can be found on the Education Scotland website at
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/inspectionandreview/reports/othersectors/com
munitylearninganddevelopment/LossiemouthHighSchoollc.asp.
If you would like to receive this report in a different format, for example, in a
translation you can contact the administration team on 01506 600381.
If you want to give us feedback or make a complaint about our work, please contact
us by telephone on 0141 282 5000, or e-mail:
complaints@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk or write to us, addressing your letter to
The Complaints Manager, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Livingston,
EH54 6GA.
Text phone users can contact us on 01506 600 236. This is a service for deaf users.
Please do not use this number for voice calls as the line will not connect you to a
member of staff.
Crown Copyright 2013.
Education Scotland
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